||ESPRESSO|| Counter Culture Coffee - Espresso Toscano 2007

Coffee: COUNTER CULTURE – ESPRESSO TOSCANO (CAFFE DULCE)
Price: $10.15/12oz. + Shipping = $1.05/oz.
Year: 2007 (February)
Blend/Roast: Brazil Ipanema "Dulce" + Sumatra Lintong + Sumatra Aceh Gayo; A wonderful espresso roasted and blended in the caffe dolce or "sweet coffee" tradition of Central Italy. Sweet and mild, with notes of caramel, hazelnut, and dark chocolate, Toscano has built quite a following of professional Baristas and home espresso enthusiasts alike.
What CC says: “Toscano has been a favorite of ours since then, its sweet dark chocolate and caramel notes are perfect for the cappuccinos and ristrettos we live for. Each year, as new coffee crops arrive, we reformulate Toscano so we are sure to get that special sweetness we prize in this coffee. We've recently reformulated the blend to emphasize the sweet chocolate notes that accompany Toscano's classic butter-caramel sweetness. We love chocolate and caramel in this coffee!” Read about it on their website

TASTING NOTES
Crema: Pretty tan-colored crema. Not thick, not thin.
Aroma: Powerful toasted roasted aroma
Body: Thick and syrupy when dialed in
Milk: Strong enough for milk – but use at least full-fat or soy milk, because otherwise it just tastes like you are watering it down.

Score: 90, 87, 87, 89, 88

Profile & Flavors: Toasty, deep, bitter espresso that is quite nice when pulled right. Think dark as opposed to light. On the bitterness, think bitter chocolate as opposed to astringent. I found this espresso fairly easy to pull consistently. Make no mistake, this espresso is quite unique and quite good. Very nice chocolate flavor, and I would specify the caramelized flavors as toasted marshmallows ... very heavily toasted marshmallows. Makes a very solid milk drink, especially a mocha (if you are able to drink such things, which in this case, I am). When condensed into a ristretto, the shot is delicious, and indulgently dense, like drinking pure melted chocolate as opposed to chocolate milk.

Buy Again? Yes, but I want to try Counter Culture’s other espressos first before returning to this one.